Hour 3

Apple announces the iPhone XS, merging multiple contacts databases, stopping someone from publishing your personal information, is Facebook offering free Wi-Fi? Number sharing on the Apple Watch, Scott Wilkinson and home theater at this year's CEDIA show, large OLED 4K TVs, setting up a blog from scratch, is Verizon 5G Home internet a good deal? And more of your calls!

Audience Questions

Audience QuestionsHour 1

Dale has an Apple and Outlook contact list. He'd like to merge them. How can he? Rich says that the iPhone doesn't do a good job where the contacts are located. But the Mac contact app does. So Rich says to sync all the contacts to his Mac. Add them in his contacts app, and then sync it. Then, Rich recommends using Google contacts as his main contact manager. He can add his Google account in there by clicking the plus sign.

Kevin has a family member that is posting personal information online at Blogger, and he'd like to have them taken down. Rich says his best bet, realistically, is to simply continue to flag the blog and keep complaining about it. He should take the approach that he's being harassed. It may take awhile, but eventually, the squeaking wheel gets the grease.

George has heard that Facebook is going to offer free Wi-Fi soon. What does Rich know? Rich says that both Facebook and Google are working on initiatives, but they're aimed primarily at rural areas, where broadband simply isn't available due to limited population.

Audience QuestionsHour 2

Rich updated to a smartphone out of necessity. He's hearing about the Apple Watch Series 4 and its heart features, but it says he needs "number share" for it. What is that? Rich says that the Apple Watch Series 4 is not only a smart watch, but an FDA approved medical device. He can actually take an ECG with it. But he'd need the higher end LTE version for $500, and number sharing, means he'd have to pay $10 a month to share his phone number with his Apple Watch.

Vincent has an Nvidia Shield and the Channel Master over-the-air DVR and he's loving it. He's glad he cut the cable. But he wants to upgrade from his old Samsung 1080i TV. What should he get? Rich says that all he really needs on a TV these days is an HDMI and Coax input for his antenna. He doesn't even need a smart TV because they rarely get updated. It's better to get a TV without smart features and a Roku or Apple TV. There is one exception, though. Roku enabled smartTVs are worth it because they do get updated. Amazon also offers TVs with Fire TV built in.

Vince wants a 75" 4K OLED TV. Rich says that most are topping out at 65" because OLEDs are really expensive and a 75" TV is simply too costly for most people. Rich likes Sony, LG, and Samsung. TCL is a great value, as is Vizio.

Cara is a budding writer who wants to set up her own website and blog. She has a domain name and set up her website through GoDaddy. Now what? Rich says that doing a WordPress.com blog is probably the best long term. They'll do it all, and all she needs to do is go into the settings and forward her domain name to the blog.

Another option is to do a self hosted WordPress blog for more control. But it would require a lot more work. So Cara should start small with WordPress and just upscale her blog plan when she needs to.

(Disclaimer: WordPress is a sponsor)

Audience QuestionsHour 3

Kevin is a police officer wants to be able to spoof his phone number so that whoever he calls doesn't have his real phone number. Rich says that spoofing isn't the right solution. He should check out Google Voice, Skype Out, and the app Burner for having a temporary number to protect his own.

Greg wants to know if 5G Home Internet is a game changer. Rich says that Verizon is testing 5G Home Internet in five cities around the country. 300/1000 down for $50. Sounds good, but that's ideal bandwidth. Is it a game changer? Well, only if it's available where you live. And 5G requires a lot more antennas, every few hundred feet. So it'll be awhile before it's widespread and Rich doesn't see it happening any time soon. If it's available, sign up. If you already have service and don't want to switch, use it as leverage to get a better deal. And that could be the best thing about it.

Fifteen states now have bills posed to allow citizens the right to repair what they buy. Meanwhile, companies like John Deer and Apple are being very litigious in preventing third parties from repairing their products.

With the huge suggest of Pokemon Go, the game's creator, Niantic, is set to release a new version set in the world of Harry Potter. Leo says you think it's bad now, wait until you can go after Dementors with your virtual wand. And Niantic has it's hands full right now, as home owners have sued the company over people trespassing on their private property looking for Pokemon monsters. https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/15/18226604/niantic-pokemon-go-lawsuit-c...

A decision by a court in Germany has declared that Facebook must stop collecting data on users without their consent, and give them the option to opt-out. Facebook is appealing, and says without the ability to collect data, they would have to shut down the social network access nationwide. Leo says that is part of the deal you make with Facebook. Free services for collecting data on your usage of Facebook. Someone has to pay the bills.

Leo says that folding phones are going to be the buzz word at this year's Mobile World Congress. Even Energizer, the battery company, is announcing one as part of their 26 model line of new phones. They are also going to do a phone with an 18000mAh battery, four times the battery life of the Note 9.

Leo also says sales of mobile phones have plateaued, and that means the "silly season" is about to start, where phone companies start adding "fins" and other silly features to lure customers back to buy.